Maroons Online Vol. 1… No. 76
Acta non verba
Observer: Digitizing Yearbooks Part 2
Macky’s New York: What A Day It Was
William Peay: Tales From The Wood…
RHS Athletic Hall Of Fame 2020 Inductees Dinner: October 30, 2021
Paul Cortellesi: Inside Sherwood
M + A NYC: Versatile Textile Variation 11
James Stroker: Courage Is Calling
Jim Schoneman: Rock Hound
Observer
Digitizing Yearbooks Part 2
My arguments to digitize the RHS Arrow Yearbooks, as well as those produced by Ridgewood middle schools, sound like advertisements. They are very similar to what I have seen on the Internet. The ads make the case as well as anybody so I will use one verbatim to further the cause. Though I don’t for a minute suggest allowing the yearbooks to leave the confines of RHS to be photographed by a third party. I suggest a more civic-minded effort involving current students and alumni.
Here is the reason why I want to see the yearbooks digitized:
Displaying the full collection of digitized yearbooks exclusively on our school’s online platforms, in a user-friendly format, is a sure way to attract and increase alumni traffic. Alumni will be excited and engaged by rekindling memories, as many no longer possess their yearbooks and would be eager to have access to them again.
Pretty good reason. I would add that our current smartphones are more than adequate to use for the task of photographing. We would certainly need to organize the volunteers needed to capture the images and to store them on a secure web site.
As for the web site, I wouldn’t burden the current Ridgewood Public School (RPS) web site. I predict this project will create tremendous interest and would slow down essential services if combined with the current site. The RPS would still be the owner of this proposed site, as it would be a prime beneficiary of the excitement and interest the digitization project would no doubt create. A new site just for RPS history is what is needed and is what I am suggesting.
Let’s not forget the most obvious reason for making yearbooks available online is the educational value that would be derived. Having all the yearbooks online would show students of all ages how times change. Being reminded of our fore-bearers via pictures and words is also a perfect way to pay them respect.
We need to begin this project relatively soon, before the oldest yearbooks deteriorate any further. We need to do this because our society has become so fragmented that we lack common points of focus for discussion. We need to do this provide future generations of with a touchstone of how a large, dispersed association can work together for the common good. This last reason will hopefully set a trend well into the future.
Why do we wait for a catastrophe in order to put aside our differences and work together? I submit we have a huge problem: the potential loss of the history and inspiration contained in the yearbooks. This is something future generations would blame us for and say we were slow to act upon. Let’s make them a present and preserve our past, for their sake as well as our own.
Macky’s New York
Matthew Cortellesi Photography
September 30, 2021 - Williamsburg
What A Day It Was
An old lady sits in the coffee shop and smiles as she thinks about that summer afternoon when she was young.
This is a reflection looking east into the thick plastic awning of a bodega side flower shop.
Bedford Avenue at North 8th street.
Time 11am.
#mackysnewyork
William Peay
Tales From The Wood…
2018
RHS Athletic Hall Of Fame 2020 Inductees Dinner
October 30, 2021
Order Your Tickets For 2020 Inductees Dinner Celebration
RHS Athletic Hall Of Fame Nomination Form
Visit The RHS Athletic Hall Of Fame
Kelly Conheeney HOF 2020 and Jeff Yearing HOF 2018
Paul Cortellesi
Inside Sherwood
A late night, but many thanks to Kay for lending us John for his carpentry expertise. He designed and engineered the interior window framing so that we will be ready for the spray foam insulation next week.
We are confident that the 2x8 lumber will have no trouble with any pressure as the foam expands.
M + A NYC
Versatile Textile Variation 11
Hand loomed on traditional wooden looms in Kerala, India, in a Fair Trade Certified environment, M+A's Versatile Textile is one of those pieces that you will be able to use for a lifetime. Works great as a tablecloth, draped over a chair (particularly useful if you’ve got a pet that sheds and you want to protect your upholstery) or as a blanket to lie on at the beach when you’re basking in the sun.
Comes with a fluffy cotton tassel that can be removed before washing the textile, or if a more streamlined look is desired. When you’re ready for a tassel change shop our pom pom accessories and switch up your look.
Details:
100% Cotton
57 x 82” (approximately)
Prewashed to bring out the beautiful texture of the weave
Comes with removable cotton pom pom (spot clean)
Designed in Brooklyn by M+A NYC
Made in India in a Fair Trade Certified environment
Care:
Machine wash warm, gentle cycle. Only non-chlorine bleach when needed. Tumble dry low. Warm iron as needed. Mild shrinkage after wash.
James Stroker
Courage Is Calling
Jim Schoneman
Rock Hound
Some of my favorite polished rocks from the 2021 season. These rocks aren't wet. The surface they are sitting on is wet, but the rocks themselves are not. If you do it right, this is how they look dry, after the final polish and burnish.
There's several moss agates in there, a fossil soup, a couple cool shaped basalts, a banded iron formation, a fine piece of jasper, at least one unakite, a very beautiful milky quartz with subtle green banding in it and a piece of petrified wood right next to it that polished up beautifully. I wish I could identify them all, but in the end, who really cares what they are. It's fun to think of how they may have been made, and when, and why.
You can buy rocks like these for $1 in any rock shop, but when you find them and polish them yourself, they become unique and priceless gems.
All of these rocks were found at Little Girl's Point, just north of Ironwood, MI. Heading back up there tomorrow with a couple friends for a day trip.
Peace